There’s the broad physical comedy of the opening scenes, which recurs at regular intervals to keep the plebs happy. Director Bob Weide has a light hand, but can’t quite nail a script that doesn’t settle on one mood. Should it matter if there have been changes from book to screen? Not really, except that now the film’s tone rests on shifting sand. And his puppyish pursuit of starlet Sophie Maes (Megan Fox) has more the air of teenage exuberance about it than the sleazy feel of Toby Young’s dogged hunt for supermodels. Oh sure, he’s a preening idiot, a hack with a sense of entitlement far beyond his abilities - but his tendency to engage in outrageous stunts, like trying to crash the BAFTAs with a pig whom he pretends is the star of Babe, is rather winning. But Pegg’s Sidney is more clueless scamp than obnoxious twat. Young’s book was sharper than most because he was honest enough to note the hypocrisy of those, like him, who pursued stardom by proxy while denouncing its existence. It’s instantly clear that the film’s tone has shifted from Young’s bite and bile to something broader - but as a result it’s just a little less sharp.Īfter all, many films have pointed a finger at the absurdities of the media world - The Devil Wears Prada most recently. Cast as Sidney Young (names changed to protect the guilty), however, is Simon Pegg, a man who can’t help but be likable even when playing numpties. As portrayed in his own tome, he’s a complete tit. The book was written by journalist Toby Young in a frank admission of his own monstrous ego when, as a young wannabe, he landed a job at Vanity Fair. It should have been evident from the moment the casting was announced that there would be a huge disconnect between this film and its source memoir.
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